New Sanctions on Iran Mean More Problems for Iranian Currency

Yesterday President Obama signed into law new sanctions that would make it illegal for any company doing business with Iran’s banking sector to do business with the US entities. He did so despite admitting to reservations about the limits the new laws will put on his executive powers.

One result was another new all time low in the value of the Iranian rial against the dollar. One Tehran Facebook user’s status update read in Farsi, “How much is the dollar?” This has become one of the most common questions overhead in the Iranian capital in recent weeks.

In the meantime, Iran has signaled it’s willingness to return to nuclear negotiations with the P5+1 even though they are also claiming a breakthrough in their nuclear program.

A decent hope for 2012 is that cooler heads in both Washington and Tehran are able to take more prominent roles in this deepening dilemma. One first step could an attempt at real diplomacy. It’s just a thought.